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pathetically

   Also found in: Medical, Legal 0.01 sec.
pa·thet·ic  (p-thtk) also pa·thet·i·cal (--kl)
adj.
1. Arousing or capable of arousing sympathetic sadness and compassion: "The old, rather shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic" (John Galsworthy).
2. Arousing or capable of arousing scornful pity.

[French pathétique, from Late Latin pathticus, from Greek pathtikos, sensitive, from pathtos, liable to suffer, from pathos, suffering; see kwent(h)- in Indo-European roots.]

pa·theti·cal·ly adv.
Synonyms: pathetic, pitiful, pitiable, piteous, lamentable
These adjectives describe what inspires or deserves pity. Something pathetic elicits sympathetic sadness and compassion: "a most earnest . . . entreaty, addressed to you in the most pathetic tones of the voice so dear to you" (Charles Dickens).
Both pitiful and pitiable apply to what is touchingly sad: "She told a most pitiful story" (Samuel Butler). "The emperor had been in a state of pitiable vacillation" (William Hickling Prescott).
Sometimes these three terms connote contemptuous pity, as for what is hopelessly inept or inadequate: a school with pathetic academic standards. "To be guided by second-hand conjecture is pitiful" (Jane Austen). "That cold accretion called the world, which, so terrible in the mass, is so unformidable, even pitiable, in its units" (Thomas Hardy).
Piteous applies to what cries out for pity: "They . . . made piteous lamentation to us to save them" (Daniel Defoe).
Lamentable suggests the evocation of pity mixed with sorrow: "Tell thou the lamentable tale of me,/And send the hearers weeping to their beds" (Shakespeare).
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adv.1.pathetically - in a manner arousing sympathy and compassion; "the sick child cried pathetically"
2.pathetically - arousing scornful pity; "they had pathetically little money"; "it was pathetically bad"
Translations
pathetically [pəˈθetɪklɪ] ADV
1. (= piteously) [whimper, moan] → lastimeramente; [say] → con voz lastimera
pathetically thin/weaktan delgado/débil que da/daba pena
she was pathetically gratefulsu gratitud resultaba penosa
2. (= uselessly) [play, perform] → que da/daba pena
a pathetically inadequate answeruna respuesta patética
pathetically [pəˈθɛtɪkəli] adv
(= pitifully)
She was pathetically thin → Elle était si maigre que cela faisait pitié.
(= extremely)
She was pathetically grateful when Kyle helped her out → Elle était incroyablement reconnaissante à Kyle de l'avoir aidée.
a pathetically small number → un nombre dérisoire
pathetically
adv
(= piteously)mitleiderregend; he limped along patheticallyes war ein mitleiderregender Anblick, wie er einherhumpelte; pathetically thin/weakerschreckend dünn/schwach
slow, stupid, inefficienterbärmlich; a pathetically inadequate answereine äußerst dürftige Antwort; a pathetically weak attemptein kläglicher Versuch; pathetically incapableabsolut unfähig; the goalie dived pathetically latees war zum Weinen, wie spät sich der Torwart nach dem Ball warf; the trains are pathetically latees ist zum Weinen or ein Jammer, wie unpünktlich die Züge sind; it had become pathetically obvious that she was ignoring himes war schon peinlich zu sehen, wie sie ihn ignorierte
pathetically [pəˈθɛtɪklɪ] advda far pena, da far pietà
pathetically thin/weak → spaventosamente magro/a/debole
a pathetically inadequate answer → una risposta da far cascar le braccia
pathetically [pəˈθɛtɪklɪ] advda far pena, da far pietà
pathetically thin/weak → spaventosamente magro/a/debole
a pathetically inadequate answer → una risposta da far cascar le braccia


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
I happened to be at that moment engaged in putting the case pathetically to our gifted Magdalen.
This, no doubt, will seem pathetically naive to most modern young men, who in this respect begin where I leave off.
As soon as he got home, Utterson sat down and wrote to Jekyll, complaining of his exclusion from the house, and asking the cause of this unhappy break with Lanyon; and the next day brought him a long answer, often very pathetically worded, and sometimes darkly mysterious in drift.
 
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